As Ned didn’t care for turning in till nine, ten, or even twelve o’clock, of a pleasant night, when he had not been fatigued through the day, Mr. Bell—who was naturally inclined to make all the inquiries possible about his son, and the new country to which he was going—sought out Ned in the pleasant evenings, and whiled away many an hour in conversation most interesting to both. Ned described the personal appearance of the son to his father, and also that of Lion Ben, told all the stories he had ever heard of his enormous strength, and his encounter with the pirates, recounted the beauties of Elm Island, of Charlie’s farm, and sketched the characters of Captain Rhines and Uncle Isaac. No doubt the virtues and attractions of Charlie received their just due in the description of so enthusiastic an admirer.
“You say, Ned, that my son owns six hundred acres of land.”
“Yes, sir; and a saw-mill on it; and the machinery came from England,—that is, the crank, saw, and mill chain.”
“Why, a man must be immensely rich to own so much land. There must be some mistake about it.”
“No, sir, there ain’t; for Mr. Griffin, the mate’s brother, his next neighbor, told me so, and I’ve been in the mill. He owns more than that, sir; he owns part of this vessel, and part of the Casco (a great mast ship of seven hundred tons), and one fourth of the Hard-scrabble; and he built the whole of them.”
“I can’t understand how he came by so much money at his age, for he’s not much more than a boy now.”
“Perhaps Lion Ben, Uncle Isaac, and Captain Rhines gave it to him, they think so much of him.”
“I don’t believe that. People are not so fond of giving away money. There must be some mistake. All my forefathers have been prudent, hard-working people, and never one of them owned a foot of land.”
“Well, sir, I don’t know how it is, but I know it is so. I will call Danforth Eaton. He can explain it all, I dare say.”
“Do, young man.”